APOPKA, Fla. — Regional Rail LLC’s Florida Central Railroad soon will receive two rebuilt EMD GP15-1s dressed in a black-with-yellow-stripes image reminiscent of the Seaboard Coast Line. Regional Rail, established in 2007 and based in Kennett Square, Pa., now has 13 operations throughout the eastern United States and in Saskatchewan, Canada. As a growing short line system, one might expect Regional Rail to adopt a common image for its railroads. But that is not the case.
“Regional Rail prides itself on a decentralized management philosophy, which includes preserving and maintaining the uniqueness of each of our short lines within their respective communities, so we do not have a ‘corporate’ standard locomotive scheme,” President and Chief Executive Officer Al Sauer writes in a text message. “Business growth required that we secure a number of new locomotives, so we asked the teams at each of the railroads to determine how the new units should be painted. The Florida Central team chose an SCL heritage scheme, and we think it looks great.”
In 2019, Regional Rail acquired Pinsly Railroad Co.’s Florida Central and its associated Florida Midland and Florida Northern, which operate a total of 200 route miles over mostly onetime SCL tracks. Locomotives for all three railroads carry FCEN markings, and until now have worn Pinsly’s red, yellow, and black colors. The two new GP15-1s, built for Missouri Pacific in 1981 and 1982, will bring a familiar image back to the region. “The majority of our Florida trackage was under the Seaboard Coast Line banner between 1967 and 1983,” says Regional Rail Vice President, Southern Region, Matt Schwerin. “Hopeful this scheme will remind our employees and online communities of not only the longevity of our industry, but of the industrial development growth we support along these rails.”
The new arrivals, two of 160 GP15-1s purchased by Missouri Pacific, enjoyed long careers on MP and, through merger, Union Pacific. They are being rebuilt and repainted by Metro East Industries in East St. Louis, Ill. Schwerin explains why they are a natural choice for their assignment on Florida Midland’s former Atlantic Coast Line Winter Haven line. “The GP15s feature a nearly identical control system and wiring schematic as our fleet of former Canadian National GP9RM’s for ease of maintenance. The reduction in the number of engine cylinders —16 to 12 — along with idle reduction technology, reduces emissions. The GP15’s improved adhesion over the former SW1200 and CF7 units will support the recent carload growth on the line.”
In addition to the soon-to-arrive GP15-1s, Florida Central GP7U No. 55 already is being painted in the new SCL-inspired image.
What about Regional Rail’s other railroads? In his text, company president Sauer hints of more interesting arrivals: “We have purchased new locomotives for Carolina Coastal, Great Sandhills, and East Penn, and they will have their own unique paint schemes as well.”
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